Inaugural Dean of the Anderson Family College of Health Sciences

Position Overview

Download Position Profile

The Opportunity

Bethel University announces a national search for its Inaugural Dean of the Anderson Family College of Health Sciences and invites nominations, applications, and expressions of interest from visionary leaders eager to launch and develop this new College.

The University seeks an experienced, dynamic, entrepreneurial, and creative professional with a record of successful health science leadership. The Inaugural Dean will bring a thorough understanding of health science education and current trends in healthcare delivery and possess the ability to establish both external and internal relationships to develop a model of collaboration across the university.

The Inaugural Dean will play a pivotal role in strengthening and expanding existing programs, assessing and initiating new healthcare offerings, fostering and developing executive-level community partnerships, and elevating the College to national prominence in healthcare education.

The responsibilities of the Inaugural Dean will include:

  • Leading the newly endowed Anderson Family College of Health Sciences with an innovative and entrepreneurial spirit; 
  • Leading with a Christ-centered approach that creates a model for the integration of Bethel’s mission and the health sciences;
  • Serving as a recognizable community leader in the health sciences and an external partner within the state and region; and
  • Providing leadership for academic programmatic excellence, transformative curricular design, and student-centered practices.

The successful candidate will hold a record of administrative leadership in the health sciences and possess the ability to build relationships and work collaboratively in a larger university context. Clinical experience in an academic or healthcare environment is preferred.

About Bethel University

Bethel University has been a leader and model in Christian higher education since 1871, when Swedish American Baptist minister John Alexis Edgren founded the seminary that eventually became Bethel University. Edgren believed that Christians ought to love God with their minds and represent God with excellence in all fields, a conviction that continues to guide Bethel today. In 1914, the Baptist General Conference (now Converge) took on support of the seminary. Following World War II, Bethel began offering four-year degrees to a largely traditional-aged, residential student population. In 2004, Bethel College and Seminary became Bethel University, a change in name that matched the institution’s broad and growing scope of academic offerings. Over the past three decades, the University has continued to grow its traditional undergraduate programs while also launching its first graduate programs outside the seminary. Now a thriving liberal arts university, Bethel has deep roots in a pietistic, evangelical Christianity characterized by vibrant faith, devotion to Scripture, and an irenic spirit. With more than 100 areas of study across four schools, it develops broadly educated, critically thinking Christians who know what it means to follow their dreams with a living faith. 

Nominations and Applications

For best consideration, applications should be submitted by December 2, 2024, to the AGB Search portal.

Should you have questions or encounter any difficulties with the application process, please contact: BethelDean@agbsearch.com

Candidates are requested to submit the following: a curriculum vitae; a letter of interest that addresses the leadership opportunities and experience relative to the minimum qualifications and preferred attributes in the profile; an essay of no more than 750 words describing how and why Christians should engage in healthcare today; and contact information for five references (to be contacted with candidate’s permission at a later date). 

Nominations and expressions of interest in the Inaugural Dean of the Anderson Family College of Health Sciences opportunity are encouraged.

Please direct nominations and inquiries to the consultants below: 

Joy Yablonsky
Executive Search Consultant

joy.yablonsky@agbsearch.com 

Laura Woodworth-Ney 
Principal

laura.woodworth-ney@agbsearch.com 

Bethel University seeks to recruit, retain, and develop a diverse workforce who contributes to our educational and Christ-centered mission. Bethel University employs qualified individuals regardless of race, color, national origin, sex, disability, age, marital status, genetic information, veteran status, familial status, and status with regard to public assistance. Individuals must be able to perform the essential functions of the position with or without reasonable accommodations.